March 2014 | Volume 76 | Issue 3
Call before you dig: 1-800-344-7483
It’s so tempting to go to a greenhouse and come home with a trunk full of flowers or a pickup full of trees and shrubs.
We want to break out of our winter hibernation and like the plants, start celebrating warm weather with leaves ad blooms.
All good so far.
But there’s another step involved in this celebrating of digging and getting our hands into the soil, and that starts with a call to the Missouri One Call System, 1-800-344-7483 or by going on their web site, www.mo1call.com to have the underground utilities located.
No one is happy when their power, or other utilities are unavailable. And with power, it could be life threatening.
So while planting daisies is a great idea, let’s postpone pushing up daisies by getting the utilities located.
It’s a free service from the utilities, takes only one call or a fews clicks and requires three working days before digging to mark underground facilities. And it’s the law.
So if daisies are in your future, let’s do our best to make certain we are able to enjoy them.
We Agree
From the CEO
It’s not often that we all can agree on something, but I think we do agree that rising costs hurts everyone on a budget. It’s tough to pay bills, especially with the economy in such a dismal state.
And whatever takes an additional bite out of a budget means that there’s less for something else. We feel that acutely in the rural areas, as it simply costs more to live farther away from our jobs and school and other necessities such as a grocery store, a gas station or a full-service shopping center.
The ability to live in relative comfort in a rural area is one of the reasons for Platte-Clay’s existence: other utilities didn’t think it would be profitable to provide electric service in the country at two to three homes per mile compared to the ease and profitability of serving thousands of families per mile in the city.
Today you are part owner of a thriving rural electric cooperative. But those early days were touch and go, and much like then, your co-op continues to watch costs closely, and although we’ve grown, your co-op serves only about seven homes a mile.
That’s why we are encouraging co-op members to write our Congressional delegation, and to make it even easier, to be a part of the national organization’s rapid response lobbying team. When we see a threat, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assoc. (NRECA) will send messages on your behalf. To sign up, go to www.action.coop or stop by the office, fill out the card and we’ll enter your name and contact information in the national database. Both Platte-Clay and the national organization will be working for you to provide low-cost energy.
As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
Annual Meeting May 1
Your co-op’s Annual Meeting is Thursday, May 1, when members will have a chance to visit with area organizations, elect three Board members, learn about the state of Platte-Clay and win prizes.
As part of the afternoon and early evening activities, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m, area Chambers of Commerce as well as nonprofit and community organizations have been invited to participate in the pre-business meeting activities. The entire meeting will run until around 8 p.m.
Members will be served a light dinner from 4:30 p.m. to about 6:45 p.m., when we’ll start wrapping up the pre-business meeting activities and moving into the business meeting.
The popular kids’ carnival is back and will run until 8 p.m., about the time the prizes will be drawn and distributed. Please note that members and children for kids’ prizes must be present to win.
In addition to community booths, spaces of approximately 8’, Platte- Clay will have a co-op booth to give members an opportunity to ask questions, review products and services and update accounts.
Each year members elect three Board members, one of the three from each District. The Board members elected in 2014 will serve through 2017. By having staggered terms, the Board has both continuity and the opportunity for members to run for the Board and elect a new Board member.
Members who are interested in serving on the Board of Directors may contact Angie Bowers via e-mail, angieb@pcec.coop for more information and to be put in touch with a member of the nominating committee. Deadline is March 11.
For more information on how your co-op is organized, the Platte- Clay Electric Co-op By-Laws are on the website, pcec.coop in the About (top tab) section.
Golden opportunity May 1
Community organizations are invited to participate in the Platte-Clay Electric Co-op
Annual Meeting May 1.
Informational booths and display space is available to nonprofit community groups
and area Chambers of Commerce.
The displays will be set up May 1 and run from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. when the
Platte-Clay business meeting convenes.
For more information, contact Linda Richardson via e-mail lindar@pcec.coop
We hope you can join us May 1.
Changes in the North District: Ann Schwarz retires,Theresa Wren Appointed to Board
Ann Schwarz retired from the Board of Directors after serving on the North District since 1985. Ann was among the first women in Missouri to serve on the board of a rural electric cooperative.
After many years of involvement with her co-op, Ann Schwarz retired effective December 31, 2013.
Theresa Wren has been appointed to fill out the remaining term and will be up for election at the 2015 annual meeting as part of the regular Board elections.
A member since 1962, Ann began her involvement with the co-op as a Pathfinder, a group of women volunteers who assist the co-op on a variety of projects and activities. She was elected to the Board in 1985, one of the first women electric cooperative Board members in Missouri.
In addition to her co-op responsibilities, she manages the family business, a farm and farm equipment company in Gower.
“We were so fortunate to have Ann join the Board in 1985, a time when women were beginning to have increasingly important roles in any number of industries,” said Mike Torres. “She’s been an insightful leader among the members on the Board,” he said, “and we’re going to miss her.”
During Ann’s tenure, co-op membership doubled, from 8,300 to more than 18,500 members, and transitioned from a read-your-own meter to the automated metering that, in addition to providing more accurate readings and billing, helps pinpoint outage issues, thus reducing restoration time.
“I wanted to leave while I was still being encouraged to stay,” said Ann. “I wanted to make a contribution and I feel that I did,” she said. “But now I want to spend time with my grandkids,” said the grandmother of seven who uses Facebook to stay in touch with them.
Theresa Wren, North District.
After reviewing the responsibilities of representing the North District membership with Theresa Wren, the Board selected her to fulfill the remainder of Ann’s term.
A member of Platte-Clay since 1998, the Turney resident is active in community activities and events, including coordinating the annual three-on-three basketball event for the Lathrop Friendship Festival and serving on the Personnel Development Committee at Liberty Hospital, where she works.
She and her husband, Donald Wren, have a cow-calf operation and raise crops. They have three adult children, Thomas, Matthew and Elyssa.
Theresa earned a Missouri CPA certificate and holds a B.S. in Agriculture Economics from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a B.S. in Business Administration – Accounting from Missouri Western State University.
Energy efficiency pays off
Shown above, screen shot of actual members’ bills comparing January 2013 to January 2014. On the left, an all-electric home jumped from using 3008 kWh to 6305 kWh. On the right, an energy efficient home with a geothermal furnace went from 652 kWh to 940 kWh during the same period.
Extreme weather can make for high bills
Cold weather is frustrating, and it can even be frightening. There’s nothing like the sense that a giant, invisible cold winter hand is reaching into our homes and is pulling us into its clutches.
With any luck, those days are behind us.
But now members are calling in, concerned about the amount of energy used during the unusually cold winter months. Some are angry, some afraid about how the cost of electric service will affect the rest of the budget, and some members are just surprised at how much energy they used.
Now it just doesn’t seem possible as we begin to enjoy longer, warmer days.
But the primary reason for high bills is that we had unusually cold weather this winter and many days where the freezing point was the high.
The Polar Vortex blew down from the Arctic, far south of its normal range and kept us in the deep freeze. The combination of cold temperatures and wind made it more difficult for our furnaces to keep up. If there were any cracks or openings in a home—the most common problems found with a home energy audit—the cold found its way in and the heat out.
Here’s where we can make some simple changes and end the cold panic and the high bills.
First, make certain that we’re dressing for the weather. It seems like there’s always at least one rogue snow storm that comes rolling through in the spring, and it will be a good opportunity to practice for next winter’s weather.
When it’s cold, wear warmer clothes such as fleece, socks, even long underwear; don’t crank the thermostat up. We’re not talking about a fashion show, although winter wear can be fashionable; we’re talking about how to save money and be comfortable in our homes. Good news: winter clothing will be on sale, so it’s a great time to stock up.
For those who are not especially active, a fleece or wool blanket or throw will help ward off drafts and keep in personal warmth—when we’re still, we’re not generating very much body heat. Wearing a sweater or quilted vest, jacket or a shawl in the house also makes sense. It’s less expensive to warm up an individual than trying to heat up an entire home, and it will help keep costs lower.
At night, turn the heat down and the electric blanket on—about an hour or so before bedtime to ease into warm sheets and pleasant dreams.
For those with central heating and air, a programmable thermostat is a cost-saver year around, and especially during the coldest and hottest times of the year. There’s no need to heat or cool an empty house while everyone is away at work or school. For those who are staying home, open the drapes to let the sun in to warm up the house and close them at night to add an extra layer of insulation to the windows. And in the summer, keep the drapes pulled on the south and west sides of the house to help reduce heat gain.
Our winter temperatures were unusually cold, and once the mercury headed for the bottom of our thermometers we were cold for several days at a time.
Between the first of December and mid-February we had 31 days with a high temperature of 32 degrees or below; over the past 40 years the average number of days with a high at the freezing point was 23 days, said Joe Lauria, local Kansas City television weather reporter.
But it has been a cold winter and most of us have the energy bills to show it.
Once weather turn favorable it will be a good time to caulk and seal those air leaks.
The Platte-Clay energy audits frequently show that homes have enough air leaks to equal leaving a window open—and we’d never do that intentionally when the temperature is hovering around zero and the wind chill 10o to 200 below. And neither would would we leave a window open in the summer with the air conditioner running and the temperature reaching into the 90s.
While we’re beginning to enjoy spring, if summer is anything like this past winter, we need to be thinking about what to do to make our homes more airtight so we’ll be more comfortable and so will our budget.
Go for the glam in Plattsburg
Travel magazines now have articles on the best spas in America, best destination spas, spa vacations, how to de-stress at a spa, most affordable spas, and starting there we can learn about spas in any number of countries.
But there’s no plane ticket or passport required to go to Plattsburg, and although the services are similar, the pricing is geared to practical Midwesterners.
There’s nothing quite like getting a makeover, and for those whose time or budget doesn’t allow for the five-hour top to pedicure tune up, taking advantage of any part of the process is bound to make a person feel better.
How about brow shaping for $10? If the eyes are the windows to the soul, the saying goes, the eyebrows frame the windows. Who knew they took on such importance, but the price is right and it’s a nice way to get a spring touch up.
It just takes a trip to Plattsburg to visit with aesthetician Nancy Kimrey who owns the Corner Spa & Salon to step into a soothing, caring environment.
“We moved to Plattsburg three years ago and live three miles south of town on 15 acres,” she said. “We just love the small town feel and beautiful homes in Plattsburg. Our son graduated from high school here in 2009,” she continued, “and also is glad we moved to a small town.”
There’s nothing small town or small time about the Corner Spa & Salon, however. It’s a full-service spa, and an overnight stay at a Plattsburg bed and breakfast would make it a great break and “staycation.”
Services include nine varieties of facials, all of which include steam, deep cleansing, exfoliation, extractions if needed and a relaxing massage for the face, neck, shoulder and hands.
Spa packages start with two hours of pampering up to the five-hour Tranquil Day, which includes a facial, full body massage, basic manicure, pedicure, shampoo and style.
There’s also a spa package for the masculine set: the Men’s Getaway is two hours of services that includes a full body massage and facial.
Spring is a good time for a new look, and refreshing a hairstyle and makeup can turn an ordinary look into spectacular, or ok into a great new look.
To see some of the salon’s striking makeovers, visit the spa’s web site, www.cornerspandsalon.com
In addition to spa treatments, the Plattsburg pamper parlor sells a full line of bare Minerals products and posts special offers.
And we couldn’t go wrong with a gift card—it’s a great way to allow the man or woman in your life to get a pleasant spring tune up.
Economy, jobs starting to improve here
There are tons of jokes about economists and how they can’t agree on anything, so we picked one who has a prediction we like.
UMB’s chief investment officer said that the gross domestic product will improve and that employment will strengthen. KC Mathews said the U.S. will grow about 200,000 additional jobs and that the unemployment will drop to 6 percent.
Excellent news for those who are looking and those new grads who will be entering the job market.
Here’s proof. North Kansas City-based Cerner, a health information tech company is growing and plans to add 15,000 jobs over the next few years at a new office complex to be built on the old Bannister Mall site.
Cerner President Zane Burke said the “extended campus will provide an economic boost to the area…and further reinforce the region’s reputation as a technology and innovation hub.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that Missouri ranked third on Dice. com’s top list of state technology job growth, fielding 1,200 new tech jobs between last June and January.
A National Federation of Business survey reported that small businesses plan to add jobs in the next three months, the highest number since 2007, and 15 percent anticipate sales will increase.
Housing starts are slow, but the industry is beginning to show movement.
Participants at the recent remodeling show, where Platte-Clay had a booth, said that it was the best year for them since 2008.
Maybe, a bit like us after a long cold winter, we are coming out of this economic hibernation.
Here’s hoping.
Classified Ads
To submit an ad, complete the ad form, use the website, www.pcec. coop, or send in a brief nine-word description of the item you wish to advertise no later than the 15th of the month, to Platte-Clay Electric Co-op, PO Box 100, Kearney, MO 64060, Attn. Northland Connection.
Ads run on a first come, first served basis.
Ads should be about 10 words or less and include a phone number. Please indicate the category, i.e., for sale, giveaway, wanted, and the topic, such as car or boat.
Please type or print your ad. If your ad does not appear, you may resubmit it for the next available edition. Ads are for Platte-Clay members only. No business or commercial ads. If your ad is time sensitive, we suggest using one of the local ad-supported publications.
Members may pick up an ad form at the PCEC office in Kearney or Platte City or use the website, pcec.coop. Click on Classified Ad or send directly to mail@pcec.coop
The area code is 816 unless otherwise noted.
For Sale
Table saw: Craftsman w/dado blades, good cond. $50. 790-3374
Fireplace mantle: Wooden, lovely ornate period replica. 82” x 52”. 248-1968
Tack: Western saddle, pad, blankets, riding helmets, bridles, heated water buckets. 858-2689.
Speakers: Two Audio Vox, 23” x 161/2” x 15”. $100 ea. 903-3705.
Hay: large round bales, net wrapped. $35 ea. 539-3361.
Auger wagon: $150. 790-3374
Winter front: Fits JD 5300 tractor, $50. 628-5128.
Dishes: Noritake Folkstone, svc. for 8. Exc. cond. $200. 628-4812.
Sandblaster: New Cummins, 10 gal. pressurized, 9’ hose, 4 ceramic nozzles, mtd. on 6” wheels. 248-1968.
Tractor oil: Case of New Holland, 15-40. $20. 628-5128.
Household: propane stove, washer, claw foot tub, $50 ea. 630-5531.
Dryer: Maytag 9000 series with steam. Only 3 1/2 yrs old. $250. 415-3834.
Treadmill: Weslo Cadence TS5, exc. cond. $100. 812-8777.
Baby goods: Convertible cribs & organic mattress, car seat, stroller, nursery pillows. 686-9638.
Dishwasher: Kenmore Elite, white, SS tub. $300. 903-3274.
Services
I teach Chinese to children and adults in local library, $30-$45 an hour. 686-9638.
Carpet cleaning: 3 rooms, $110, quote for add’l rooms. Lawson to Weston. 628-4801.
Bounce house: Castle Moonwalk. Rent for parties, add pizzazz to your events. 769-2931.
Wanted – master hand tool sharpener willing to teach the skill. 781-9654.
Washer/Dryer repair. Most brands. 20 yrs. exp. 532-9274.
Tree trimming & removal. Ky, Holt, ES, Lawson. 590-6977.
Refrigerator: Kenmore, $125. GE smooth top stove, $100. Exc. Cond. 539-1415.
Household: Furniture, baby items, sleep apnea machine, new wrench set. 510-3095.
For Rent
Ocean view vacation condo. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. 415-4152.
Wanted
Dog runs for 2-3 large dogs. 539-1415.
New members for Missouri Mule & Donkey Circuit. Free Mule Awards Dinner, Lathrop Fair Grounds March 29, 5 p.m. Call 452-2879.
The Northland Connection is published monthly by Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc., 1000 W. 92 Highway, Kearney, MO 64060. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Northland Connection, PO Box 100, Kearney, MO 64060 or mail@pcec.coop.
Platte-Clay is an equal opportunity employer.